3 Things to Know When Starting a Home Health Business

COVID hasn’t gone anywhere. That much is clear. More than that, it has continued to ravage small businesses in many different ways. That said, one market has done better recently. Starting a home health business might’ve seemed like sunk cost back in 2019, but with everything that has happened in 2020 so far, it might be a great course of action. Below, we’ve compiled three tips about home health services that you might need to know, along with some tips on how you could start a home health business of your own.

What is a Home Health Business and How Do I Start One?

This is the question everyone will need to ask themselves when it comes to starting a home health business. Claire Samuels from A Place for Mom wrote an article about Home Health vs. Home Care which might provide some answers.  

Regarding home health care, Samuels wrote:  

Home health care is clinical, medical supervision provided by a licensed professional. Registered and licensed practical nurses, occupational therapists, and physical therapists can all provide home health care, often through home health agencies, or in some cases, hospice agencies.

On the other hand, home care is a compassionate form of aide that requires no direct medical knowledge. Samuels’s article discusses this difference in greater depth as well.

Types of Home Healthcare Businesses

There are many different kinds of home healthcare businesses that you might consider, based on your skills and qualifications. Some, like nursing or doctor or therapy care, can only be done with a higher amount of training. Other concepts, such as companionship and transportation and meal-delivery can be done with little prior training.

An article from the Johns Hopkins Medicine Department goes into deeper detail about various types of home healthcare services.  Some of the ideas they include are:

• Doctor/Nursing Care
• Physical/Occupational/Speech Therapy
• Medical Social Services
• Basic Assistance Care
• Companionship
• Nutritional Support
• Laboratory Testing
• Pharmaceutical Services

The list can continue from there. If you have any medical job history or skillset, it could likely turn into a form of home healthcare work.

Home Health Pricing

If you’ve started a business in this field, you’ll probably start to think about pricing. AARP writer Marsha Mercer wrote an article about pricing from the perspective of the patient, which provides some knowledge. “[T]he national average bill for a home health aide is $4,385 a month,” writes Mercer.  

That said, the patient isn’t always paying just out of pocket. Medicare, Medicaid, veterans’ programs, and more all can provide financial support to people who need the aide. And in the process, that can help you out as well.

The Three Tips to Know

If you’re thinking of how to start your home health business, here are the three things you’ll want to know off the bat.  

1. Know the difference between home health care and home care. One involves professional doctors and medical professionals; the other involves tasks that can be performed by anyone with the training.
2. Discover the kind of home care business you want to develop. There are so many niches, find one that works best for you and you can go far.  
3. Know the relationship between insurance and pricing. It differs among different categories of health care and how you perform your duties, but stay informed on how you can make money.

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